Free
by theEarthIsMyMother
Summary: Hinata has spent her entire life with the abuse and ignorance of those around her...even the ones she cares about.  But she is finally going to take action to end her suffering...may be a oneshot, I can't decide.  Please review and tell me what you think
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do own this storyline, but, sadly, I do not own any of the Naruto characters. The characters are pretty OOC in this fic, though, just so you know.**

_"Hanabi, much younger than you, has already _greatly_ surpassed you're skill level. She will be given the title of heiress of the Hyuuga clan. You are of no further use to me. A black mark on the name Hyuuga is all you have become. You will leave in two days time, never to carry the honorable name with your filth again. No longer are you a daughter of mine."_

Hinata woke with a start, eyes wide with the fresh memory of the nightmare. Her father's voice still echoed through her head, as if he had just been speaking. Pushing herself into a sitting position, she pushed the blanket off of her legs, and slowly got to her feet.

The silvery fabric of her nightgown pooled around her knees, flapping out behind her like a ghost of her shadow. When she was out in the dark hallway, she silently activated her Byakugan. Neji was asleep across from her room, as was Hanabi. Her father was farther down the hall. Hinata hesitated, and then took off toward the stairs after a few moments of watching her ex-family's steady breathing.

Soon, she was standing beside the gate of the Hyuuga mansion. Resting her hand on the rusty metal, she turned her head to take one last look at her home before--.

"No," she whispered sadly to herself, "this was never a home for me." A small smile ghosted across her face as she stared back at the prison in which she had suffered through most of her life. It loomed over her, dark and dangerous, like a monster reaching out to trap the world within its walls. "I'll never have to come back. I'll never have to step on this land again." With that said, she turned away, and pushed through the gates, the smile still on her face. "I'll never again have to see Konoha."

XXX

Tenten smirked victoriously at her victims, twirling various kunai in her hands. After a moment of measuring her aim, she leapt into the air, closing her eyes and twirling many different ways as the weapons were released. The small clearing in the trees was filled for a brief period with the sound of the blades embedding themselves in the young kunoichi's targets. When she landed in a crouching position, her fist balancing her in the front, she opened her eyes, the smirk still in place. Not one kunai was out of place; each was planted firmly in the red center-circle of the many targets pinned to the trees lining the clearing.

Panting lightly, she wiped the sweat from her forehead and laughed lightly. A twig snapped behind her, and, in the blink of an eye, she reached down and grabbed a kunai that was strapped to one of her boots. When she turned around, however, she lowered the weapon, and smiled apologetically.

"Hey, Hinata. I didn't see you there," she laughed lightly, waving to the dark-haired youth. "What are you doing out here so early?" Her smile faltered when Hinata froze. Taking a step toward her, the brunette's look turned to one of worry when her friend backed away. "Are you alright?"

Hinata turned her head to face her, but her face was hidden in the shadow of the dark travel cloak she was wearing. "It was fun training with you yesterday." The younger kunoichi's voice was scratchy, as if forced to come out of her mouth. Turning her head to the sky, she spoke again. "I'm going to miss the sky. It's so beautiful here." The statement caught Tenten off guard, and by the time she regained her composure, the younger girl was gone.

Shaking her head, the elder girl smiled. "Same old Hinata. Strange as ever." Pushing the meeting out of her head, she went around the clearing to gather the strewn kunai to continue her training.

XXX

Hinata sighed happily as the wind that blew down from the clouds tugged playfully at her hair, causing her cloak to billow out behind her. The heels of her feet were placed together, while her toes hung out in midair, right along the edge of the tall cliff by which she stood. For the first time in her eighteen years of life, she was going to be free.

From somewhere in the trees behind her, a bird called out happily. Hinata pushed the hood of the cloak off of her head, and stared down at the rocky earth spread out below her. A strange feeling of power washed through her mind; she finally had taken control of her own life. In one moment, there would be no more pain. No more dirty looks from Sasuke and his many fan girls. No more tormenting outbursts from Sakura or Ino. No more hatred from her so-called 'family'. And, most importantly, no more ignorance from the people of whom she cared the most.

Throwing her arms horizontally in the air, she tossed her head skyward with a loud laugh. It was her first true laugh since her mother had died. She spent one more minute on solid ground. Then, with one step forward, she fell into a weightless oblivion. "I'm free."

**A/N: Wow…I'm sorry to leave this at a sort of cliffhanger, but I really can't think of what to write after this…so I want people to vote for what they want. The options are:**

**1) No one comes until after the 'accident' or**

**2) Someone comes and saves her. The choices for saviors are: Kiba, Naruto, or Sasuke. Or**

**3) This can just be a one-shot.**

**If you review, please vote for one and I could really use some advice on how to improve my writing, so any advice at all (flames or compliments, it doesn't matter) would be AWESOME!!! Oh…and it might take me a little while to update…I have a few volunteering jobs, and school's coming up, so…I might be a little busy. But anyways, review and I'll try to update as soon as I can. You guys ROCK!!!!**

**theEarthIsMyMother**


	2. Chapter 2

"Hinata!" Naruto's forehead creased in concentration as he strained to hear her, begging in his mind for her gentle voice to call to him, once again. For her to just walk out of the bushes, laughing, and tell him they lost the game. She would explain why she had been gone for two days, and then they would race back to the village, and everything would go back to normal.

But, instead of his friend, he was answered with his own call, barked out loudly by others with the same hopes as himself. Other friends of the young Hyuuga who desperately wanted to find her. But something in his gut felt different, and, for once, it wasn't hunger. Something deep inside of him knew that they would never find her. Naruto growled deeply in frustration, running his rough hands through his now-dirtied blonde hair.

'That's not true,' he thought, turning his deep blue eyes to the sky. 'We'll find her.' He called out again, and winced. Desperation dripped from his words like rain from the sky. 'We have to.'

Naruto jumped onto a tree branch, and froze. The loud voices of the others that echoed faintly around him melted away from his mind. To his left, right past the ending line of the trees, was a cliff. The blonde turned to face it, slowly, and his stomach twirled.

'Why do I feel this way?' he thought, clutching his side as he dropped from the tree to the grassy earth. 'Why this pain? I've never been here before.' Slowly approaching the cliff's edge, his eyes widened, and his mouth dropped open.

The view was amazing. The way the land seemed to spread out beneath him was almost…empowering. A small smile tugged at his mouth as he stepped forward, his toes now sticking out in open air. A few rocks clattered as they fell from below his feet, and Naruto looked down to follow their path. A heavy force slammed his gut, and he almost collapsed.

'It can't be,' he thought. Dropping to his knees, he dug his nails into the rocky wall and slid himself over the edge. As he quickly descended the rock, he repeatedly told himself that it wasn't what he had seen. That, when he got to the bottom it would turn out to only be his imagination. However, when his feet touched the hard ground again, the feeling that he would never again see his friend flared through his body.

He had not been wrong. The sharp rocks at the bottom of the cliff glowed sickeningly in the dying sun's light, dyed red. A small tear of cloth dangled motionlessly from the sharp point of one of the rocks. Stumbling forward, Naruto ripped it from the point and clutched it with one trembling hand. The fabric was too familiar; he had seen the girl wearing it for many days, now.

Looking around manically, Naruto held the piece of Hinata's cloak to his chest, and screamed her name. The sun glinted off something to his right, and he turned to face it. His eyes widened, and vomit erupted from his mouth.

Flies buzzed silently around the girl, feeding joyously from the open wounds and decaying flesh. The girl's body was broken brutally, each leg and one arm split to the side. Her head dangled uselessly from the broken neck, and Naruto had to turn away. The sun had reflected off the drying blood that now covered her corpse. The scene told all. After the fateful leap, the damage had already been done. But the broken neck, miraculously, took her after she had dragged herself to the wall with her one good arm.

With a scream of agony, Naruto leapt forward, and fell at the girl's side, pulling her mangled body against his. Tears spilled from his tightly closed eyes as sobs shook him.

"Hinata!" he screamed. There would never again be that gentle, laughing voice to call out his name ever again. Naruto continued to cry, not noticing the others approaching slowly. Kiba, Shino, and Tenten watched in horror, and Akamaru howled painfully to the sky. The sun was gone and the world was dark when Naruto finally acknowledged their presence. His cries had faded away hours before, and he looked at them now, his expression grim, yet determined.

"We need to bury her," he whispered, laying the body down gently on the ground. Tenten nodded and turned to the others. Her voice was weak.

"Right, you guys get started, and I'll go inform the Hoka--."

"No." The friend's turned, startled, to face the blonde boy. He was looking down at Hinata.

"What?"

"No one is going to find out about this. She hated that village, and we can't re-trap her there in death. This is what she would have wanted." Tenten was about to respond, but fell silent. They all knew it was true.

"Well, then," she murmured, kneeling to the ground, ", we best get started." Digging her hands into the dirt, she scooped it out and placed it to the side. Slowly, the others joined her, working through the night until the sun began to rise.

Naruto wiped the dirt from his hands as he stood up, staring painfully at the small mound by his feet. When he spoke, it was in synchronization with the friend's gathered around him.

"Goodbye."

XXX

"Hey, Naruto! Did ya hear what happened to Hinata?" The blonde stiffened slightly and looked up from his ramen as Sakura ran up to him, her eyes gleaming. He set down the chopsticks, and turned to face her. Her face twitched, and he felt sickened at the way she seemed to itch with gossip.

"No, I didn't. What happened?"

"Well, I heard that she ran away from the village and went into hiding. She's changed her identity and disguised herself, and everything! Tsunade-sama says that if we see her, she's supposed to be arrested and taken in for questioning!" Naruto tuned out the rest, nodding as the pink-haired girl threw the information at him. When she excused herself, and stood up to leave, he nodded and waved.

He remained at that spot for a long time afterward, having only one concerned look from the owner of the restraint, before he left as well. On the way to his destination, he stopped at Ino's flower shop and bought a single red rose.

The sun was setting on the horizon when he reached the grave. Kiba, Shino, and Tenten were already there, each holding their own flowers. One by one, they stepped forward and placed their gift on the mound. When Naruto's chance came, he stepped forward slowly. Kissing the soft petals of the rose, he pressed it gently into the earth, with a soft, "Goodbye."

The four companions sat down together, side by side and watched the sun go down. This would be their last visit to the grave, and they all knew it. If they ever returned, the village would become suspicious, and they didn't want to risk Hinata's freedom. When the sun was gone, and the stars were out, they left.

Naruto was walking through the trees, hands in his pockets, when a gentle breeze quickly embraced him. Opening his eyes, he looked up and stopped. Standing in the space between two trees was Hinata. Tenten stopped beside the blonde, along with Shino and Kiba, and they all watched as the dark-haired girl smiled at them. She was somehow different, and they all knew what it was. With a gentle laugh, she turned and ran, disappearing in the darkness of the trees. The breeze gave them one last playful tug before it, too, disappeared. The companions stood in silence for a moment, watching each other.

Suddenly, Naruto laughed. Kiba looked around, startled, before he, too, began to laugh. Tenten and Shino looked at them oddly, and then joined in. They laughed so hard that they fell to the ground, clutching their sides as tears threatened to spill from their eyes.

"Let's go home," Naruto chuckled, hooking arms with Kiba and Shino. Tenten nodded and grasped Shino's arm as they took off for the village. None of them ever went back to the gravesite, and, soon, they began to drift apart. Whatever happened to the grave was unknown to any, whether or not it was still there. But that no longer mattered to them. No matter how many years passed, they would never forget the look of the girl who had never lived until she died. Hinata was free.


End file.
